Education Innovators

As I enter my 11th year as President of the St. Lucie County Education Foundation, I am reminded that “The path to prosperity runs straight through the classroom”. All our successes and challenges can be traced to educational levels, both individually and as a society.

During the past 11 years, thanks to an active Board of Directors and a professional staff, the Education Foundation has increased its relevancy and capacity to the school district. The Foundation now supports over 3,000 teachers per year, impacting 30,000 students with annual funding resources peaking at over $1 million in the past 2 years.

As I look to the near future, I feel we need to continue our commitment to community leadership at a defining moment for public education in St. Lucie County.

Our goal should be nothing less than creating sustainable transformation through educational excellence. This will elevate economic prosperity through community partnerships.

St. Lucie Public Schools (SLPS) has achieved historic success as an A-rated public school district for the second consecutive year, built on disciplined governance, measurable accountability, administrative efficiency, and the unwavering belief that every student can succeed — no exceptions.

SLPS is the center of gravity for PreK-12 education, with 85% of students in St. Lucie County attending SLPS.

But excellence must be sustained. In a changing funding environment and an evolving regional economy, public education must not only perform — it must lead.

As education innovators, the foundation protects academic momentum by sustaining critical literacy and math gains, strengthening graduation success, and expanding community-based education initiatives that elevate families and workforce readiness.

Early literacy is our economic foundation. Graduation is economic policy. Lifelong learning leads to economic success.

In a diverse county where generational poverty has limited opportunity for some families, education innovation is an explicit commitment to breaking that cycle through educational excellence.

By aligning public education with economic development strategies such as the Classroom2Careers initiative and evolving the concept to include a focus on top graduates through STEM education, attracting higher-skill industries, and advancing innovation through the Education Foundation Center for Innovation, St. Lucie County can position itself as a model for education innovators.

Creating Community Schools is another initiative where adult continuing education will elevate our adult residents’ skills with workforce ready or career focused curriculum.

We affirm that educational excellence is non-negotiable, fiscal stewardship matters, and shared prosperity begins in our schools.

St. Lucie County has built a model that works. Now we are stepping into the future — together.

I am excited and ready to work with this wonderful community to make St. Lucie County the premiere destination for quality lifestyles and world class educational opportunities focused on supporting our teachers. Will you join me?

Thom Jones

President & CEO, St. Lucie County Education Foundation, Inc.